As most people indubitably know, the pockets on garments have a propensity of wearing out. This problem becomes especially disturbing to men who, in almost all instances, have no purses in which to carry their belongings. Thus, holes in their pockets often portend the loss of valued item, such as coins and keys.
A pocket generally develops holes in two fashions. First, the material at the seam may undergo slippage and come apart. In other words, the material may not have the strength to avoid the loss of integrity required at the sewing line to stay together. Alternatively, of course, a hole may simply wear through the material itself.
Clearly, to minimize the development of holes in pockets, garment manufactures can use a heavier material for the pockets. However, that may result in the pocket having unacceptable bulk which could destroy the line of the garment. Moreover, it substantially increases the cost and concomitantly the price of the garment itself. Additionally, a heavier material may not avoid the seam slippage at the sewing line where many holes develop in actual wear.
Alternately, the manufacturer may use a process called "double tipping" or "double bagging". This involves sewing an extra layer of material to the pocket's bottom. This process suffers from many of the defects seen for the heavier material. Further, it incurs the increased expense of an added step in the manufacturing process.
Manufacturers have also woven the pocketing material with a heavier fabric in the area of the pocket's bottom. This specialized technique increases the fabric's cost. Further, it may not even appreciably help avoid seam slippage.
W. J. Potter, in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,425, coats the inside of pocket bottoms with a rubber bottom to extend the pocket's lives. However, the solid rubber coating prevents the passage moisture which results in the wearer's skin moisture in the area acquiring a clammy or wet feel. The rubber also has an unacceptable and thick feel.
To ameliorate the problems encountered with Potter's pockets, U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,960, to R. H. Hall impregnates the fibres of pocketing material with a resin while leaving the spaces between the fibres entirely free of the polymer. However, putting the resin on both sides of material gives it an unacceptable feel and stiffness.
Clearly, a pocket that would have increased wear constitutes a desirable feature in the garment industry. However, it should have a pleasing feel and pliability but not substantially increase the cost of the garment itself. Furthermore, the material used should have very little affect, if any, upon the garment's line. Additionally, the avoidance of both seam slippage and wearing through the material represent important facets of any pocketing material used.